A six year old girl has spoken of her horror of been savagely mauled by an American Akita dog.

Speaking from her home in Limerick this morning, Abbie Cuddihy said every time she closes her eyes she remembers the brutal attack and sees the dog snarling at her.

The horrific attack on Wednesday last left her with 17 stitches across her forehead and bite marks along her body.

Her family said she was lucky not to have been killed.

Speaking from her home in Lynwood Park, Abbie said: "Every time I close my eyes I keep seeing it happening again and again."

"I'm feeling a bit sore on my head and my arm."

She was playing on a green area near her home at around 6.30pm when the gruesome attack unfolded.

Abbie explained that she went to rub the dog -- believed to be an American Akita -- when it snarled at her and then grabbed her in its powerful jaws.

"I went over to rub the dog and then he growled at me, and then I rubbed him again and he attacked me."

"It was just really really fast and I felt really scared."

Brave little Abbie Cuddihy, 6, who recieved 17 stitches to her face and neck after a dog attack near her home (Image: Pic: Press 22)

The terrified girl was saved by a nurse who brought her home.

"My mam was crying and I was calming her down a bit," Abbey added bravely.

She was taken to University Hospital Limerick where the doctors and nurses "were really nice," the girl said.

Her mother Donna, also praised medical staff who treated her daughter: "The doctors and nurses were absolutely brilliant. They were fantastic."

Donna added: "I was at home, in the kitchen, and she was brought over to me by a neighbour. (She was) pumping bleeding and there was a tissue on her head."

"I opened the door and (I) started screaming when I saw her."

"The neighbour told me to calm down, and that it was 'grand'. So, I went over (to Abbie) and I pulled the tissue back from her head and I saw she was split open. I got worse, and then (my) mam came down the stairs and she was screaming."

The family contacted gardaí and then rushed Abbie to hospital where they were seen to immediately by doctors.